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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-05-02 Daily Xml
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First Nations Voice to Parliament

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:36): My question is to the Premier. Why is the Premier going ahead with a State Voice to Parliament when there is no mandate from the South Australian public? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr McBRIDE: In October 2023 the constitutional referendum on the Voice was rejected by the Australian people. South Australia had the second highest no vote, behind Queensland, with nearly 65 per cent saying no. In the recent election of the state-based Voice, less than 10 per cent of those who were eligible to vote actually voted. People in my electorate believe the millions that the SA Voice would cost taxpayers would be better spent on improving cost-of-living pressures and health and education in our regions.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:37): I thank the member for MacKillop for his question. It does provide an opportunity for the government and I to explain our position in regard to the issues that the member for MacKillop raises, which I think aren't unreasonable. There are a couple of things, though, that are worth pointing out. You might characterise it as 'nuanced' but I actually think it is quite fundamental in nature.

The first thing is this: the member for MacKillop in his question refers to the constitutional referendum, as he well should. The distinction here, of course, is there has been no amendment to the constitution with respect to South Australia's Voice to Parliament. It is entirely legislative.

The second thing is that at the last state election, which of course happened well prior to the federal election and, indeed, occurred prior to the referendum, hundreds of thousands of South Australians voted for political parties—not party, but political parties—whose position was to pursue a legislated Voice to Parliament. On this side of the house, yes, we absolutely went to the election with a position to institute a Voice to Parliament.

But that was also true on that side of the house. Indeed, if you don't mind me saying so, member for MacKillop, you went to the last election endorsing it, as a member of a political party and a government at the time whose policy was to institute a Voice to Parliament. In fact, I don't want to seem cute, but we were at one on this issue only two years ago.

Having won the election, we delivered on our commitment to introduce a Voice to Parliament and that legislation passed this parliament well before any referendum. I suspect that those who would seek to weaponise this issue politically will not be projecting that message to those who would see this issue as fertile ground to sow political discontent, but nonetheless they are the facts that are recorded into history, and I am more than happy to talk about them in this place.

In respect to the Voice to Parliament and how it has been legislated, the elections have occurred. The new members who will represent the Voice to Parliament have started to engage with one another and in due course, in the not too distant future, they will go through their own process as is provided for in the legislation to determine which two members of the Voice will ultimately end up with the responsibility of being able to make a contribution in this place—a significant privilege and a significant honour.

But do you know what is also a significant honour and a significant privilege? For this country to be home to the longest living culture that human history has ever known. I have held the view consistently and it hasn't changed, and my heart has been on my sleeve on this from the get-go because it was the very first policy that the team that we had in opposition announced to the public—the very first. I am of the view that the longest living culture that history has ever known should be afforded the opportunity just to be heard and that is all it is: they don't get to make decisions, they don't get to decide policy, they just get to be heard. I am okay with that. Others might not be, but we have legislated for it, and I am looking forward to it happening.

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